Mooring device



Aug- 27, 1963 E. A. sALo 3,101,491

MooRING DEVICE Filed sept. 2a, 1961 INVENTOR. ERIC A.' SALO ATTORNEYS of the buoy ll into a trough between two waves.

United States Patent O reinar MURING DEVECE Eric A. Salo, h98 Via Finale, San ljorenzo, Calif. nnen sept. as, 196i, ser. No. 141,439 7 Claims. (lll. Q-FS) This invention relates to improvements in lfloating devices moored in bodies of water and more particularly to improvements in means for moored buoys and the like.

It is a principal object of Ithe invention to provide improved mooring means for buoys and the like which will increase the llife of the mooring means substantially without any substantial increase in the cost of the mooring means. I

It is another principal object ofthe invention to provide suoh imp-roved means for mooring buoys and the like which is readily ladapted for use on existing mooring means of this type.

lt is another object of the invention to provide such improved mooring means which may be employed without substantially increasing the cost of the mooring means and which may use the heavy-duty chains used heretofore for mooring large marker buoys `and the like. It is another object of the invention to provide such improved mooring means in which the rate of wear and deterioration of the mooring chains will be substantially constant along the entire length of the chain.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be come apparent from the following description read in conjunction with the attached `drawings in which:

FIG. l is a view in elevation, partially broken away, of apparatus of this invention employed in mooring a buoy with the ligure including a phantom outline position of the buoy in a-n `alternative condition;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged sectional View of a portion of the mooring means shown in FIG. 1, and

FIG. 3 is a sectional view of the apparatus of FIG. 2 taken along the plane and in the direction indicated at 3-3 in FIG. 2.

Referring now in detail to the drawings, a marker buoy l is shown floating on the surface of a body of water 2 moored by a heavy metal chain 3 which connects the buoy l to an anchor 4 with Ithe anchor resting upon the bottom 5 of the body of water. In the normal condition of such a buoy, the chain 3 may be considered as including three portions, ie., a vertical portion extending downwardly 'from the buoy, a horizontal portion extending from the anchor 4 along the bottom 5 ot the body of water, and a dip section extending between these vertical and horizontal portions. Under the inuence of normal wave and tide action the buoy l is moved up and down on the surface of the water so that the vertical portion of the chain 3 is also moved up and down between for instance the. solid and phantom line positions shown in FIG. l.

Applicant has found that this wave and tide action on the buoy causes `greatly accelerated wear and deterioration of chain 3 in the dip section thereof as compared With the rate of Wear and deterioration in the vertical and horizon-tal portions, and that this accelerated rate of deterioration can be avoided by providing resilient means embracing the chain in the `areas of the vertical and horizontal portions Iadjacent to the dip section with the resilient means extending across the dip section for maintaining the chain elongated in the dip section. The accelerated rate of deterioration in the idip section of the chain apparent-ly results from erosion of the chain links as they are raised from the dip section by a Wave or high tide and then piled up upon each other `at the bottom 5 of the 4body of water responsive to low tide or movement The resilient means employed in accordance with this invention llllgl Patented Aug. 27, 1963 ICC straight line along the bottom of the body of water.

A. particularly desirable resilient means employed in accordance with this invention is shown 'as a length of rubber tubing 6 embracing the chain in the dip section thereof. rihe resiliency of the tubing causing it to assume a straight condition together with the use of tubing of approximately the same inside diameter as the outside diameter of the chain provides ideal response of the dip section of .the chain to wave `and tide action on the buoy. The sleeve is preferably made slightly larger than the chain, however, to `facilitate its placement on the chain. The provision of the sleeve 6 on the chain 3 only in the dip section of the chain provides substantial savings in cost of material and ease of handling of the chain 3 particularly where the buoy l is moored i-n very deep water. Additionally, the provision of the sleeve in only the dip v section of thechain provides a substantially constant rate of wear `and deterioration over the length of the chain.

When the sleeve 6 is employed in only the dip section of the chain 3, it is desirable to provide means for attaching the sleeve 6 to the chain to prevent movement of the lsleeve 6 longitudinally of the chain so that the sleeve 6 remains in the `dip section. Suitable attaching means are illustrated in FIGS. 2 `and 3 and comprise ia perforated plate 7 welded in one of the links of the chain 3 adjacent to an end of the sleeve 6. A block of rubber 8 enoloses the plate 7 and its chain link and is vulcanized thereto with 4the rubber of the block 8` extending through the apertures 9 in the plate 7. The adjacent end of the rubber sleeve 6 is then vulcanized to the outer surface of the block 8 'and is clamped thereto by a pair of steel bands in a preferred embodiment of the invention, the securing means shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 is employed at both ends of sleeve 6 and a lubricating and oxidation inhibiting fluid is employed inside of the sleeve 6. This preferred embodiment is particularly useful Where the buoy and mooring means are employed in sandy areas Where the movement of sand over the chain links increases the rate of erosion of the chain.

While one preferred embodiment of the invention has been illustrated `and described in detail herein, it is obvious that many modications of the structure disclosed may be made without departing lfrom the spirit `and scope of the invention.

I claim:

1. in a device moored in ya body of water comprising a floating member on the surface of said body of water, an anchor at the bottom of said Ibody of Water, and a mooring chain connecting said floating member to said anchor, with said chain having a generally vertical portion eX- tending downwardly from said floating member, a generally .horizontal portion extending from said `anchor along the bottom of said body of Water, and a nowrigid dip section consisting of chain links connecting said generally vertical and horizontal portions, the improvement comprising resilient means embracing said chain at locations adjacent said generally vertical and horizontal portions thereof and extending substantially along the full length of said dip section for maintaining said `dip section chain links against endwise compaction.

2. The improvement of claim l characterized further in that por-tions of the length 'of said chain separate said resilient means trom said floating member and said anchor, .and connecting means interconnect said chain and said resilient means for preventing movement of said resilient means longitudinally of said chain.

3. In a device moored in a body of water comprising a floating member on the surface of said body of water, an

against anchor at the bottom of said body of Water, and a mooring chain connecting said floating member to said anchor, with said chain having a generally vertical portion extending downwardly from said floating member, a generally horizontal portion extending from said anchor along the 4bottom of said body of Water, and a noW-nigid dip section consisting of chain links connecting said generally vertical and horizontal portions, the improvement comprising a sleeve constructed of a resilient materia-l and encircling said chain along the dip section thereotto prevent the collapse and consequent Wearing action upon each other of the dip section chain links, with said sleeve also encircling said chain in areas of said generally horizontal .and vertical portions adjacent to said dip section.

4. The improvement of claim 3 in which said resilient sleeve comprises an elongated length of rubber tubing having an inside diameter slightly greater than the outside diameter of said chain.

5. The improvement of claim 4 characterized further in that portions of said kchain separate said sleeve from said iloating member and said anchor, `and connecting means interconnect said chain and said sleeve for preventing movement of sa-id sleeve longitudinally of said chain.

6. The improvement of claim 5 in which said connecting means comprises `an apertured metal plate Welded in a link of said chain adjacent to'each end of said sleeve, and la body of rubber vulcanized to each of said plates and attached to the adjacent end yof said sleeve.

7. The improvement of claim 6 characterized further by the inclusion of a lubricating and oxidation 4inhibiting uid in said sleeve and surrounding said chain.

Middlebrooks Feb. 27, 1940 Bailhe July 24, 1951 

1. IN A DEVICE MOORED IN A BODY OF WATER COMPRISING A FLOATING MEMBERS ON THE SURFACE OF SAID BODY IN WATER, AN ANCHOR AT THE BOTTOM OF SAID BODY OF WATER, AND A MOOREING CHAING CONNECTING SAID FLOATING MEMBER TO SAID ANCHOR, WITH SAID CHAIN HAVING A GENERALLY VERTICAL PORTION EXTENDING DOWNWARDLY FROM SAID FLOATING MEMBER, A GENERALLY HORIZONTAL PORTION EXTENDING FROM SAID ANCHOR ALONG THE BOTTOM OF SAID BODY OF WATER, AND A NOWRIGID DIP SECTION CONSISTING OF CHAIN LINKS CONNECTING SAID GENERALLY VERTICAL AND HORIZONTAL PORTIONS, THE IMPROVEMENT COMPRISING RESILIENT MEANS EMBRACING SAID CHAIN AT LOCATIONS ADJACENT SAID GENERALLY VERTICAL AND HORIZONTAL PORTIONS THEREOF AND EXTENDING SUBSTANTIALLY ALONG THE FULL LENGTH OF SAID DIP SECTION FOR MAINTAINING SAID DIP SECTION CHAIN LINK AGAINST ENDWISE COMPACTION. 